Streaming service CNN+ to be shut down only a month after launch

theguardian.com:

CNN’s brand-new streaming service, CNN+, is shutting down only a month after launch.

In a Thursday memo, the incoming CNN chief executive, Chris Licht, said the service would shut down at the end of April.

CNN+ launched when its parent was still part of AT&T. It combined with Discovery earlier this month in a new company, Warner Bros Discovery, under the Discovery chief executive, David Zaslav, who had his own vision for CNN and its Warner siblings.

Under AT&T, there were $100m in development costs and some 500 employees assigned to building out CNN+. The service had attracted big names for its lineup, from the former Fox anchor Chris Wallace to food-media star Alison Roman, as part of the company’s effort to appeal to younger people with a streaming news service as cable news audiences age.

In his memo, Licht said consumers wanted “simplicity and an all-in service” rather than “standalone offerings”.

Discovery had previously suggested that it wanted to merge the new company’s separate streaming services, which include Discovery+ and HBO Max, into a single app.

Licht said some CNN+ content will wind up on other company networks, and the streaming service’s employees will get opportunities to apply for jobs elsewhere inside Warner Bros Discovery.

The head of CNN+, Andrew Morse, is leaving the company.

“While today’s decision is incredibly difficult, it is the right one for the long-term success of CNN. It allows us to refocus resources on the core products that drive our singular focus: further enhancing CNN‘s journalism and its reputation as a global news leader,” Licht wrote.

There had been skepticism that a paid news streaming service would attract interest from consumers, who already have available a slew of online TV.

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